Upton limited Tuesday with sore thumb

By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- D-backs outfielder Justin Upton was held out of Tuesday's starting lineup with a sore left thumb, but he entered the 4-2 D-backs victory on defense as part of a double switch in the 11th inning. He recorded a putout in right field and did not have an at-bat.

Upton jammed his thumb while sliding into second base to break up a double play in the seventh inning on Sunday afternoon against the Giants. Upton placed his left hand on the ground as he slid, and that's when the injury occurred.

"I have a bad habit of putting my hand down when I slide," Upton said. "I wear a brace, but it doesn't protect the thumb."

X-rays taken were negative and Upton hopes to be back in the lineup as early as Wednesday.

"It swelled up a little bit on me," Upton said. "It's a little sore and I went and swung and it didn't feel quite right. Obviously take a day to try to get it right. It's not too bad. It's one of those things where you'd rather be cautious early on than push it early on."

Gerardo Parra got the starting nod in right in place of Upton while Chris Young was in Upton's usual No. 3 spot.

"Hopefully he'll be ready tomorrow," manager Kirk Gibson said.

Adjustment pays off for Overbay

SAN DIEGO -- Lyle Overbay would be hard-pressed to have had a better start to his 2012 season.

Overbay got the start Sunday against the Giants' Matt Cain and responded to his first taste of game action by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a homer and three RBIs.

"It can give you a little confidence," Overbay said of a good start to a season. "But the biggest thing was just taking advantage of pitches I got to hit."

Overbay started slowly this spring, and D-backs hitting coach Don Baylor and manager Kirk Gibson noticed that Overbay was bent over at the plate. That made it easier for pitchers to jam him, and in order for him to get to pitches he had to fly open with his front side more and that made his bat slower.

"I wasn't even feeling myself going over, so it was good they saw it," Overbay said. "It kind of made it night and day."

SEALs present Gibson with custom gift

SAN DIEGO -- When D-backs manager Kirk Gibson invited some Navy SEALs to speak to the team last spring, they passed along one of their mottoes: Deal with it.

It became something Gibson and the players referred to often during the season.

Tuesday, one of the SEALs visited the D-backs before batting practice and presented Gibson with a brass plate that he displayed on his desk in the visiting manager's office. It reads "Deal With It" with the D in the form of the D-backs logo.

The plate rests on a pair of 50-caliber shell casings.

"Their job is to accomplish their mission and all live," Gibson said of the SEALs. "It kind of helps us keep things in perspective, we appreciate what they do, No. 1."

Respect for the men and women serving in the armed forces is one of the reasons Gibson emphasizes to his players that they should be standing in front of the dugout for the national anthem each game.

"You'll see great participation from our team," Gibson said. "Virtually everybody is out there every day, because of what our armed forces do for us and people who put their lives at risk to preserve our freedom."